Dwarf Shrubs for Small Spaces

We all have them. Those tight spaces (narrow walkways, against the side of the house, petite little borders) that need a little something that makes a style statement, but doesn’t become a maintenance nightmare by overgrowing the area.

We’ve chosen 18 smaller shrubs by groups of zones that are either naturally dwarf (typically topping out at about 4 – 5′ tall maximum) or are very slow growers Each of these has something special going on that we’re pretty sure will solve a problem in your landscape. Plants may span many zones, so please don’t feel limited to the outline here!

Need more specific advice about a small space issue that’s vexing you? Leave a comment below and we’ll do our best to help you.

Award-winning beauty with burgundy stems and leaves and pale pink button flowers in spring and summer! Useful for small urban gardens, mass plantings, or a low maintenance landscape. Up to 4′ tall and wide. Partial shade to full sun.

My client wants to hide a foot and a half well head…year round…on the front lawn which gets full sun. Needs to be evergreen…can take drought…preferably 3’x3’…low maintenance. Flowering or non flowers ok. Rounded shape would be perfect. Would like the bush/shrub to grow around the pipe to hide it completely. Zone 5b.

Hi! You can click on any of the plant names to go to its plant detail page. If the plant is currently available for sale online, the plant detail page will show you the sizes and prices currently available. If the varieties you like are not currently available for online purchase, we advise checking with your local garden center to see if they have them in store for you to purchase. —Justin, Monrovia Horticultural Craftsman

No small or miniature shrubs/bushes for heavy shade, black alkaline soil listed. I need to fit a bush/shrub into a 1- ft by 2 ft area under a window behind the sidewalk. I have miniature boxwoods -but I need another type for contrast.

Hi! Without knowing where you live or having more information about your space, I am afraid I cannot make good plant recommendations. But, if you reach out with more information, our team should be able to help you more specifically. —Justin, Monrovia Horticultural Craftsman

Hello, I need slow growing evergreen plants for very narrow container boxes…the plants must have small root balls, as the containers are only 8” wide. They are deep containers but they are narrow. I was able to plant a mop-type evergreens in the containers about eight years ago. They are doing fine still, but I want a change. Do you have any evergreens that are sold with smaller root balls?

I would love to get email notifications related to my zone only. I enjoy looking at all the plants Monrovia provides, but i become disheartened when I see one I would like to try to only discover a struggle or ultimate death in my area. If you could provide information that would lend to the success of a planting, I would look more often.

I live in Dunwoody, GA / Zone 7 and I am looking for dwarf shrubs – no more than 2 feet high – that will work in drought conditions – deer resistant a few hours of sun per day.
Appreciate recommendations,
Sheila Sofsky

I love Indian Hawthorne, but, unfortunately in every home I’ve ever lived, the builders’ landscaper has not planted a disease resistant variety. I am planning a landscape for my daughter’s backyard and was interested in the Ballerina IH – may I assume that Monrovia’s variety will be disease resistant because I know they don’t have the time & patience to spray monthly with fungicides. Thank you!

Have a small area where Bradford Pears once grew that everything we plant seems to die. Do you have any suggestions? We think that possibly we need to remove the soil & replace it with new. Is there something in the Bradford Pears that would kill the plants?